Kanakchanpa Chakma won the best prize in the recent exhibition at the American Museum of Art, Florida. This was to mark International Women's Day. The painting that won the award is called Searching for Peace. It has a Buddhist priest moving away from a background of red that stands for conflicts, bloodshed and disorder. Nearby is the large gleaming bell that rings gently and ushers in peace. The world over we need peace. This has been done with acrylic on canvas, two feet by two and a half in measurement, done in 2006.

Kanakchanpa had won a similar prize in 2001. She says that she is happy not only because she won the prize but because once more Bangladesh has come into the limelight. "The world thinks of our country as a poor nation, devastated by floods, famines and overpopulation. I want them to know the positive side of Bangladesh too -- that the country inspires creations that surpasses others in thought, imagination and beauty. We are very rich in our culture as our roots go back to thousands of years, and this is something that cannot be minimised," Kanakchanpa says.

She has won many national and international awards. She says that it has not been easy for her to reach the pinnacle. "People sometimes say that I represent the ethnic and so I'm different. As a consequence people buy my work. There are other Chakma artists too but their work has not won the popularity that I've been lucky to get. I believe that I'm working as a mainstream artist bringing up subjects of international importance."

Kanakchanpa has just returned from Karachi, where she had been invited by a women's charity organisation. There she painted with Farida Parveen singing in the background and donated the money from the sale of the painting to the earthquake victims. Donating to